President Trump said he wanted “fair deals with everyone” as he backed down over tariffs he imposed on countries around the world less than a day after they came into force.
Trump announced a 90-day pause for his “reciprocal” tariffs on all countries but China, after bond and stock markets turned negative. At the same time he increased duties on Chinese goods from 104 per cent to 125 per cent, in the latest escalation of a trade war between the world’s biggest economic powers.
Xi is a smart guy, Trump says
President Trump described President Xi of China as “one of the smartest people in the world”.
Trump, who has spoken with contempt of China in recent days, said Xi was a “smart guy” who loves his country and “knows exactly what has to be done”.
“We’ll end up making a very good deal,” he said. “We will get a phone call at some point and then it’s off to the races.”
Earlier, Trump said he “cannot imagine” increasing tariffs on Chinese imports, which already stand at 125 per cent.
Trump mulled pause for ‘a period of time’
President Trump said he and his team had been considering a pause on tariffs for a “period of time” before today’s announcement.
For several days the White House had dismissed rumours of a pause. But Trump told reporters at the White House that “this is something, certainly, we’ve been talking about for a period of time”.
“We don’t want to hurt countries that don’t need to be hurt,” he added.
Tariffs only ‘magnified’ market issues, says Trump
President Trump has said his tariffs aren’t to entirely blame for the volatility of the US markets.
“I don’t blame the tariffs, I think the tariffs magnified what was happening,” he said from the Oval Office, where he was taking questions from reporters.
“The market was sick … I think the tariffs brought it out faster and magnified the problem. This was a systemic problem.”
China ‘not thrilled’ about US TikTok deal
Addressing the uncertainty surrounding a TikTok deal between Beijing and Washington, President Trump has admitted that China is “not exactly thrilled about signing”.
However, Trump expressed confidence that the US operations of the platform, which is owned by the Chinese company ByteDance, will eventually be bought by an American company.
“China’s going to want to do it,” he said.
Watch: President Trump pauses tariffs
Trump turns his attention to showers
President Trump is back in the Oval Office where he is signing several executive orders.
One of the orders will loosen restrictions on water pressure in American households, enabling homeowners to install high-pressure showers. “No longer will showerheads be weak and worthless,” said a draft of Trump’s order, adding that it intended to “make America’s showers great again”.
As he signed the order, Trump joked that he enjoyed a high-powered shower to help take care of his “beautiful hair”.
Federal regulations on low-pressure showerheads were originally introduced by the Obama administration to promote water conservation. Trump relaxed these standards during his first term in office.
US takeover of TikTok in doubt
The White House’s turn against Beijing appears to have hampered efforts to place TikTok, the Chinese-owned video app, into the hands of an American owner.
Discussions to sell the platform’s US operations to an American company have ended for the foreseeable future, Fox News reports.
Just days ago President Trump had granted TikTok, which is owned by the Chinese company ByteDance, a second 75-day extension to comply with a law that requires the app to either sell its US operation or face a ban in the country.
China’s reported refusal to strike a deal with the White House suggests TikTok could eventually “go dark”, as Trump warned last week.
